Drip-pan for elevated railroads



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. A. TRAPP.

DRIP PAN FOR ELEVATED EAILEdADS.

No. 404.751. v Patented June 4, 1889.

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, E WITNESSES:

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. E. A. TRAPP.

DRIP PAN FOR ELEVATED RAILROADS. No. 404,751. Patented June 4, 1889.

W/TNESSES: A I mum/7 01? I NITED STATS FFICEu ATENT DRIP-PAN FOR ELEVATED RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 404,751, dated June 4, 1889.

Application filed March 11, 1889- Serial No. 302,850. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD A. TRAPP, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drip-Pans for Elevated Railroads, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in. drip-pans for elevated railroads; and it consists in novel arrangements of longitudinal pans adjacent to and supported in part by the customary guardrails, which on elevated railroads are secured to the road-bed upon each side of the customary rails.

The object of the invention is to afford adequate means for catching the drippings from the engine, engine-cylinders, and steam-heating appliances for the different cars of the train, particularly at the stations and terminal points of the road, without obstructing light and air from beneath the roadway. It is well known that one of the most pronounced objections against elevated railroads is the fact that under ordinary circumstances, particularly at the stations and terminal points of the road, drippings of oil and condensed steam and cinders fall to the street, and that the street beneath the road is darkened and the passage of air obstructed; and it is the purpose of the present invention to obviate these objections by providing means for catching the drippin gs and other foreign matter without obstructing the passage of light and air beneath the roadway and without materially altering the character of the construction of the road, with the exception of rendering it possible to leave considerable open space between the inner guard rails, which are the rails adjacent to the inner side of the two steel rails upon which the cars travel.

The details of the construction of the invention and its application to elevated railroads will be understood from the description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through one side of an elevated road-bed; and Fig. 2 is a like view of same, the construction in this latter view being of a modified form. In the drawings, A designates the transverse supports for the steel rails B and guard-rails '0, one of the latter being at each side of the rail B. The transverse supports A also serve to sustain the brackets D for the switch-sigjnal pipes E. Upon the guard-rails O are secured by screws F the drip-pans G H, respect- ,ively, which are of sheet metal and closely conform to the surfaces of said guard-rails, and the inner edge of each of which curves downward and then upward beneath the opposite lower surfaces of the head of the steel rail B, forming gutters I J, one being on each side of said rail B. The outer edges of the sheet metal forming the pans G II respectively extend beyond the guard-rails O in a transverse direction, forming receptacles lettered K L in Fig. 1, having closed ends M N, and being in connection with the drain-pipes O P, for con-1 ducting away the drippings caught in the drip-pans. It Will thus be seen upon reference to Fig. 1 that the guard-rails C are effectually covered, and that all the drippings from the engine and heating appliances and brakes, whether falling between or at the outer sides of the guard-rails, will be eitectually caught and prevented from descending to the street except through proper means. At the ends of the gutters I J, formed by that portion of the pan at each side of the rail B, will be provided any transverse trough for conducting the drippings to the pipe P, and it will be understood that the gutters I J and receptacles K L will more effectually serve theirpurpose if given a slight inclination toward one end, in order that the drippings may have a nat ural flow toward the drain-pipes O P. The trough to be provided at the ends of the gutters I J will be of ordinary form and construction, and constitutes no part of the present invention, and isnot, therefore, illustrated in the drawings. The outer edges of the receptacles K L will be sustained upon supports Q R, and thus rendered rigid and durable and not liable to become bent or destroyed in use. The drip-pans G H are illustrated in Fig. 1 as applied to one of the steel rails, with its accompanying guard-rails C; and it will be understood that the other steel rail of the road, with its guardrails, will be likewise provided with drip-pans, thus leaving a wide space between the inner guard-rails, through which light and air may pass. In instances where the switch-signaling pipe E is supported upon brackets D the bottom of the drip-pan should be made to conform to the position of said brackets, as illustrated in that part of the drip-pan lettered K in Fig. 1. If the switch-sigmtling pipe E were placed directly upon the supports A, the receptacle K of the drip'pan might conveniently be given the form of the receptacle L at the right-hand side of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1 the receptacles K L and gutters I J consist of but two main pieces of sheet metal,

one being at each side of the steel rail 13,

while in Fig. 2 the gutters I J are similar to those illustrated in Fig. 1, but are detached from the metal coverin the upper portion of the guard-rail, and from which the receptacle I, in said Fig. 2 is formed.

The modified construction presented in Fig. 2 shows that it is not necessary for the purpose of the invention that the gutter J, receptacle L, and covering of the guardrail should technically be formed in a single piece. The inner edge of the metal S, forming the covering for the guardrail C in Fig. 2, is turned upward at the inner edge of said rail, forming a flange T, which operates as a side to the receptacle L, the receptacle thus extending from the flange T to the Vertical support V. According to either of the constructions illus trated in the drawings, that portion of the roadway between the inner guard-rails C may be left open a distance of about two feetand a half, and thus remedy the obj eetion to the obstruction of light and air without permitting drippings and cinders to fall to the street.

hat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. For elevated railroads, the guard-rails 0 upon opposite sides of the steel rails 1-), combined with drip-pans secured to said guardrails, and forming gutters I J on each side of the steel rail, said drip-pans being formed of sheet metal, and at their contact with the guard-rails serving to cover the latter, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In the construction of elevated railroads, the guard-rails C at each side of the steel rail B, combined with sheet-metal drip-pans secured to said guard-rails, and forming receptacles to catch the drippings at each side of said rails, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In the construction of elevated railroads, the guard-rails C at each side of the steel. rails 13, combined with sheet-metal. drip-pans secured to said guard-rails and forming 1ongitudinal receptacles for drippings from the engine, brakes, and heating appliances, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York. and State of New York, this 8th day of March, A. D. 1880.

EDlVARD A. TRAPP.

\Vitnesses:

CHAS. O. GILL, \V. A. (1. llli\'l"l.IIlE. 

